Signs of Christ’s Return

24 (A)Jesus (B)left the temple area and was going on His way [a]when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. But He responded and said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, (C)not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.”

And as He was sitting on (D)the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of (E)Your coming, and of the [b]end of the age?”

And Jesus answered and said to them, (F)See to it that no one [c]misleads you. For (G)many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the [d]Christ,’ and they will [e]mislead many people. And you will be hearing of (H)wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. For (I)nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be (J)famines and earthquakes in various places. (K)But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pains.

(L)Then they will hand you over to tribulation and kill you, and (M)you will be hated by all nations because of My name. 10 And at that time many will [f](N)fall away, and they will [g]betray one another and hate one another. 11 And many (O)false prophets will rise up and [h]mislead many people. 12 And because lawlessness is increased, [i]most people’s love will become cold. 13 (P)But the one who endures to the end is the one who will be saved. 14 This (Q)gospel of the kingdom (R)shall be preached in the whole [j](S)world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

Perilous Times

15 “Therefore when you see the (T)abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in (U)the holy place—[k](V)let the [l]reader understand— 16 then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. 17 [m]Whoever is on (W)the [n]housetop must not go down to get things out of his house. 18 And [o]whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. 19 But (X)woe to those women who are pregnant, and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 Moreover, pray that [p]when you flee, it will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. 21 For then there will be a (Y)great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will again. 22 And if those days had not been cut short, no [q]life would have been saved; but for (Z)the sake of the [r]elect those days will be cut short. 23 (AA)Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the [s]Christ,’ or ‘He is over here,’ do not believe him. 24 For false christs and (AB)false prophets will arise and will provide great [t](AC)signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even (AD)the [u]elect. 25 Behold, I have told you in advance. 26 So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them. 27 (AE)For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will the (AF)coming of the (AG)Son of Man [v]be. 28 (AH)Wherever the corpse is, there the [w]vultures will gather.

The Glorious Return

29 “But immediately after the (AI)tribulation of those days (AJ)the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and (AK)the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 And then (AL)the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see (AM)the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. 31 And (AN)He will send forth His angels with (AO)a great trumpet blast, and they will gather together His [x](AP)elect from (AQ)the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.

Parable of the Fig Tree

32 “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: as soon as its branch has become tender and sprouts its leaves, you know that summer is near; 33 so you too, when you see all these things, [y]recognize that [z]He is near, right (AR)at the [aa]door. 34 Truly I say to you, (AS)this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 35 (AT)Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

36 “But (AU)about that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. 37 For [ab]the (AV)coming of the Son of Man will be (AW)just like the days of Noah. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, (AX)marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that (AY)Noah entered the ark, 39 and they did not [ac]understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the (AZ)coming of the Son of Man be. 40 At that time there will be two men in the field; one [ad]will be taken and one [ae]will be left. 41 (BA)Two women will be grinding at the [af](BB)mill; one [ag]will be taken and one [ah]will be left.

Be Ready for His Coming

42 “Therefore (BC)be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. 43 But [ai]be sure of this, that (BD)if the head of the house had known (BE)at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. 44 For this reason (BF)you must be ready as well; for (BG)the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.

45 (BH)Who then is the (BI)faithful and (BJ)sensible slave whom his [aj]master (BK)put in charge of his household slaves, to give them their food at the proper time? 46 Blessed is that slave whom his [ak]master finds so doing when he comes. 47 Truly I say to you that (BL)he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48 But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My [al]master [am]is not coming for a long time,’ 49 and he begins to beat his fellow slaves, and he eats and drinks with those habitually drunk; 50 then the [an]master of that slave will come on a day that he does not expect, and at an hour that he does not know, 51 and he will [ao]cut him in two and assign [ap]him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be (BM)weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 24:1 Lit and
  2. Matthew 24:3 Or consummation
  3. Matthew 24:4 Or deceives
  4. Matthew 24:5 I.e., Messiah
  5. Matthew 24:5 Or deceive
  6. Matthew 24:10 I.e., from the faith
  7. Matthew 24:10 Or hand over
  8. Matthew 24:11 Or deceive
  9. Matthew 24:12 Lit the love of the many
  10. Matthew 24:14 Lit inhabited earth
  11. Matthew 24:15 Or the reader is to understand
  12. Matthew 24:15 I.e., the reader of Daniel
  13. Matthew 24:17 Lit The one who
  14. Matthew 24:17 Housetops were flat living areas
  15. Matthew 24:18 Lit the one who
  16. Matthew 24:20 Lit your flight will not be
  17. Matthew 24:22 Lit flesh
  18. Matthew 24:22 Or chosen ones
  19. Matthew 24:23 I.e., Messiah
  20. Matthew 24:24 I.e., confirming miracles
  21. Matthew 24:24 Or chosen ones
  22. Matthew 24:27 I.e., be visible everywhere
  23. Matthew 24:28 Or eagles
  24. Matthew 24:31 Or chosen ones
  25. Matthew 24:33 Or know
  26. Matthew 24:33 Or it
  27. Matthew 24:33 Lit doors
  28. Matthew 24:37 Lit just like the days...so will be
  29. Matthew 24:39 Lit know
  30. Matthew 24:40 Lit is
  31. Matthew 24:40 Lit is
  32. Matthew 24:41 I.e., handmill
  33. Matthew 24:41 Lit is
  34. Matthew 24:41 Lit is
  35. Matthew 24:43 Lit know that
  36. Matthew 24:45 Or lord
  37. Matthew 24:46 Or lord
  38. Matthew 24:48 Or lord
  39. Matthew 24:48 Lit lingers
  40. Matthew 24:50 Or lord
  41. Matthew 24:51 Possibly referring to other extreme punishment
  42. Matthew 24:51 Lit his portion with

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